Aftermath
by GetFighted
Summary: After the dust settles, Harry is left to fight with his demons. And likewise, so is Draco. SLOW BURN.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is going to start out slow. This first chapter is meant to set some ground for the good stuff, so stick with me! We'll be heading into Drarry soon enough! I just want it to feel more authentic for when we do get there. For those of you who are concerned there will too much Harry/Ginny, trust me, I don't care for the pairing and I'll be changing it up soon. I'll be updating any warnings as I go along. Any feedback is appreciated!

-ooo-

Harry couldn't say exactly what had gone wrong. They were so good, Ginny and him. They laughed, they touched, they stole so many kisses in dark corridors, he had lost count. He could remember every strand of red hair and every twinkle in her eye. And although he thought of these things fondly, the love was gone. He still loved her as a friend and a confidante, but just not…like that. The war was harder on her than he could have ever imagined. He remembered holding her close at Fred's funeral and something was missing from her then that just never came back. Part of her light was gone, snuffed out and plunged into darkness. He hated to think about it, but part of him felt like she blamed him. It didn't sound like the Ginny he knew, and he most certainly hoped it couldn't be true, but the guilt was overwhelming and it consumed his better judgement from time to time.

And then there was his own damaged soul. Maybe when all was said and done, something died in him too, and not just the part of Voldemort he was so glad to be rid of. No, it was something else. There was an indescribable pain that lingered in his chest, hovering over his heart like his own personal stormcloud. He still loved the people around him, but he found it hard to meet their eyes and in turn was left with a loneliness he couldn't avoid. The war had changed him, and it changed Ginny. Deep down, they both knew what they had died with the war and those little pieces of themselves. Harry wasn't sure he could ever love like that again.

-ooo-

"Harry, when are you going to tell people? They're starting to suspect something is up."

Harry looked up from his book and sighed.

"Let them talk. It's none of their damn business."

Hermione sighed and then gave Harry a curt nod. "Right. Of course. It's between you two."

There was a moment of silence between the two friends, and Hermione eyed him cautiously. "You've been so quiet lately," she started, pausing for a brief moment to evaluate Harry's reaction. Harry simply looked at her again, face blank. Hermione continued, "do you miss her?"

Harry thought about the question for a second or two. He wasn't sure how to answer. Of course he missed her. He always thought they'd grow old together and marry, maybe have children. He remembered being able to picture it all so clearly in his mind. Now it all just felt so far away. There was not a doubt he missed her, but he wasn't so sure if he missed _her_ or just the idea of her.

Harry sighed. "I don't know Hermione. I don't even know what happened yet."

"Are you okay?"

Hermione may be slightly intrusive, Harry thought, but her genuine concern was always something he could appreciate in the long run.

"Honestly, Hermione...No, I'm not okay. But I will be."

-ooo-

It was another sleepless night. He had been having a lot of those lately. Nights where he tossed and turned, blinked at the canopy, and counted sheep until he was nothing short of irritated. And then every night, when he was thoroughly maddened and exhausted, his mind would give in and he would see her face. It smiled at him, and he could swear he could still smell her hair as it blew in the breeze. It was a hot summer day and they had been dancing just outside the Burrow. It was silly dancing, and he recalled her laughing at him, but he didn't care. He could have listened to her laugh for days, even at his own expense.

Harry turned over in bed yet again, and tonight he shed a tear. When did his life get so complicated? When did his demons win? Did Ginny's demons win too?

-ooo-

"Harry! Wake up, mate!"

A pillow crashed into the side of his face and he groaned, reaching a lazy arm out to protect himself, far too late.

"C'mon, you slept in! Slytherin's playing Ravenclaw today and Cho promised us a good Malfoy beatdown. Get your arse up!"

Harry smiled as he sat up. He had almost forgot. It was the first Quidditch match of the year and they were indeed promised a wonderful match. It would be good for Harry to scope out his opponents and he couldn't deny that seeing Malfoy get absolutely destroyed on the pitch was a definite perk. They assumed Malfoy wouldn't have had much time after the war to brush up on his skills, and a few measly practices was surely not enough. The three houses decided to completely expose that. Ravenclaw just so happened to get the first honor.

Harry dressed quickly and threw on his glasses, hastily following Ron out of the dormitory and to the pitch.

-ooo-

The rain was pouring down onto the pitch and the risers. Harry's clothes clung to his skin and there was a mild shiver travelling through his body. He could already picture the hot cocoa for later.

The rain wasn't even the worst part of the match, not by a longshot. Harry sort of enjoyed the rain. What he did not enjoy was the masterful skills Malfoy seemed to retain. He was flawless and it grated at Harry. He could see Cho trying her hardest to knock him off kilter, but he held strong. He looked healthy and solid, nothing like Harry remembered. A childish voice in his head mocked him. _You save the wizarding world and somehow Malfoy comes out more attractive than you._

Ravenclaw was ahead by 50 points and the crowd was a sea of blue, loud and rowdy. Their cheering was deafening, but welcomed. He missed Quidditch. He missed the excitement, he missed the wind in his face while he zoomed around the pitch in the middle of a tight match, his heart pounding in his chest while his eyes frantically scanned for their win.

Suddenly, Cho picked up speed and got low to her broom as she headed in a dead straight line inclining upwards. She had found it. Somehow, through the rain and fog, she had found the snitch. Harry cheered louder than he had the whole match, and the sea of blue joined him. The tension in the crowd was thicker than the fog around them as they all held their breath. Draco lagged slightly behind Cho, possibly not even aware she had spotted it. Harry hoped so anyway. But of course, like many things Harry hoped for, he was let down. Draco picked up speed too, his broom inclining behind hers, and boy, was he ever gaining speed. Harry cursed under his breath. Cho peered over her shoulder and threw her focus back forward, her arm reaching out to a snitch Harry couldn't see. Draco was right next to her now, his own arm reaching out beside hers. Both their fists closed at the same time and their brooms slowed to a hover, and the stands were quiet for a moment while they waited.

And then Draco's hand raised into the air in triumph.

 _No_.

The small pond of green erupted in loud whistles and hoots while Draco circled the pitch with his win. As he passed by the gryffindor stand, Harry could have sworn he saw Draco catch his eyes, and wink at him with a smug smile.

Harry wanted to shove that snitch so far down Malfoy's throat, he'd be shitting gold for _weeks_.

Ron grabbed his arm. "Let's get out of here. I hate watching those smug bastards celebrate."

Harry couldn't have thought of a better idea himself.


	2. The Note

_Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate it, and I hipe you like Chapter 2!_

 _-ooo-_

 _The brightest feast Harry had ever seen lay on the table before him. He could feel the light warmth of freshly cooked food waft towards him, his senses mingling as he took in the scent of each and every plate. He was hungry, and a low rumble coursed through his belly. He could feel his mouth salivating as he reached out a greedy hand to grab a handful of whatever was closest; He didn't really care. As his fingers wrapped around a nicely sized drumstick, a hand grasped his wrist. He froze, and dropped his food, meeting the gaze of his visitor._

 _Ginny stared at him from across the table, her hand still firm on his wrist, and her eyes hard. Harry stared back, unable to comprehend her expression or intentions. He felt nervous before her, awkward even. He blinked a time or two before opening his mouth to form some sort of question, anything. But before any words escaped, he felt her foot running up and down the side of his left leg. His mouth closed abruptly and he peered down beneath the table to confirm it was her foot. With even more confusion running wild through his head, he snapped his gaze back up to hers._

 _Except she wasn't there. The red hair and stone cold eyes were gone. In her place was platinum hair, and light blue eyes. Draco's mouth was turned up in a bright smirk, almost a real smile, and his hand gripped Harry's wrist much like Ginny's did. Harry's eyes widened in surprise and horror as he realized a foot was still dragging against his leg. Draco chuckled and gave Harry that familiar smug smile and wink from the game, and then broke out into full blown laughter._

"HARRY!"

Harry shot up in bed so fast, his head instantly pounded and he winced, reaching a shaky hand up to rub his forehead while he gently eased himself back down onto his pillow. He was not a morning person.

"We seriously need to get you an alarm or something. You'd sleep the entire day away if you could, I swear." Ron eyed him carefully.

That didn't sound so bad. Harry closed his eyes again, still drowsy from his slumber - and a little thrown off by the dream that accompanied it - and he tempted to spill his secret of late sleepless nights. But truth be told, Harry wasn't sure he felt like talking about it. He just wanted the sorrow to disappear.

"So what's the plan for today, then?" Harry asked, changing the subject and glad when Ron seemed to take the bait.

"Well, you missed breakfast and lunch," Ron started with an apologetic smile. "But we could probably head to the kitchen and find you something before we head off to study a bit? We've got that charms exam tomorrow, and as much as I hate to admit it, Hermione is right; We could both use the extra help."

Harry cursed under his breath as he clambered out of bed. As always, Hermione _was_ right.

-ooo-

The walk to the kitchens was a little groggy for Harry. He recalled about twenty too many yawns. He was even sure he saw a few portraits snigger at him as he walked by, and he imagined it was all thanks to the inevitable bed head he suffered from.

As he walked down the corridor next to Ron, he remembered a note he had mysteriously found just the day before. Just before bed, he had gone to crawl into his bed when he saw it sitting neatly under his pillow, half of it sticking out as if it was supposed to be semi-hidden. He had picked it up as he finished crawling into bed, carefully unfolding it and reading it's contents.

 **Harry,**

 **I'm sorry for the pain I have caused. Please know that.**

He pulled the note out of his pants pocket where he had stuffed it after he finished reading and stared down at it again. There was no signature on it, or any indication of who could have left it for him. He had only one guess, and he guessed it was Ginny. The only thing that nagged at him was how unfamiliar the handwriting was. He thought he 's handwriting like the back of his hand; he had read enough letters from her to last a lifetime.

Harry was deep in thought, still staring down at the small piece of paper in his hand and thankful that Ron was busy chatting with Seamus as they walked. So deep, infact, that he collided shoulders with someone, knocking him off balance and sending him stumbling into Ron, who caught him and kept him on his feet.

"Can't take your eyes off your fan mail, can you, Potter?" the familiar voice taunted. Harry inwardly groaned. Why? Why him? Why couldn't he have run into a pretty girl who might ask him for a date? Oh no, he had to run into Draco Malfoy.

"Piss off, Malfoy," Harry snapped. He watched Draco's eyes flick towards the note still in his hand and he hastily shoved the note back into his pocket. "Mind your own."

Draco's lip turned up into that annoying smile of his, and Harry had to resist the urge to slap it off of his face. Instead, he simply turned on his heels and walked away, Ron and Seamus close behind. He was hungry, and Malfoy was simply not worth it.

-ooo-

It was a long afternoon of studying, and Harry had spent most of it with his face buried in his hands, growling in frustration. He was good with spells. Infact, he was more than just good. But only when he was under pressure. Now that the war was over, he found himself unable to grasp any new concepts of spells. The pressure was gone, and with it went his comprehension. Hermione had tried to guide him, but he found himself failing more often than not.

Besides, he was distracted. If he wasn't thinking of Ginny, he was thinking of the note. Part of him was almost angry at the note. He had enough to deal with and now suddenly he had a new mystery to solve. The better part of him told him to forget about it and just focus on classes, but that just wasn't his style. Harry had to know, and he would go to great lengths to achieve his goal. He searched the world for multiple horcruxes, surely he could search a school for a single person.

After announcing he was calling it a night with studying, he packed his things up and said goodbye to his friends before heading back to his dorm. He walked at a quick pace, as dinner was starting soon and he really wanted to get a shower in before he ate.

When he stepped into the common room, he instantly spotted her. She turned to glance at the new addition to the room and a slight frown crossed her face. It put a quick jab in Harry's chest, but he quickly shoved the feeling down into that dark pit full of all his other troubles, and strode over to where she sat, offering her a small smile.

"Hey Gin, can we talk for a second?"

She returned the smile. Although people were already suspicious of their split, neither of them felt ready to confirm it just yet. It was a hard task, one they couldn't seem gather up the courage to face. Keeping up a friendly appearance was paramount.

"Of course, Harry," she said as she rose to her feet and stepped off to the side behind him.

He looked her over before he spoke. It wasn't very often Ginny Weasley stood before him these days. He had a reflexive urge to reach out and embrace her, and breath in the familiar comfort that she was. She was a home to him, burnt down to the ground, and he couldn't seem to shake the need to go back, even if there was nothing left but ash and the remnants of their belongings.

"Did you leave this for me?" He asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the note, offering it to her. She took it and read it over, and before she said anything, the look on her face said everything. Ginny Weasley was not who he was looking for.

"No, Harry. This isn't from me…" She shifted her stance and read it over again, a quizzical expression dawning on her.

"What? What is it? Do you know who it is, then?"

She chuckled, soft and quiet, and handed the note back to him.

"I think so… but Harry, you're not going to like it." Harry could tell she was trying not to laugh, and he had to resist the urge to growl at her. He didn't think this was funny at all.

"Well? Spit it out, then."

"Harry...I think this was written by Draco Malfoy."


End file.
